It has been a funny few weeks for Ben Affleck as he was barred for life from the blackjack tables – blackjack being one of the world’s most popularly played casino games (in physical locations and on online gaming sites like this one) – at the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas for “being too good” according to the dealers or, if you listen to others, for card counting. This was followed up by news of rowing with his wife, and star of the TV show Alias that ran from 2001 to 2006, Jennifer Garner over his out of control gambling combined with the embarrassment of being barred in Vegas, but this has all blown over the recent release of the pictures of Affleck in the Batsuit alongside the Batmobile from the upcoming Superman vs. Batman movie.

Or has it? Hollywood is notorious for its short term memory and with the focus now taken away from his gambling issues with these new pictures will his gambling issues be forgotten quickly? With is apparent quick rise from grace, we take a look at other celebrities who have done bad things, but were welcomed back into the fray in the movie capital of the world.

While Downey Jr. is a fantastic actor and comes across as one of the good guys, he was a victim of the problem of becoming famous too early in life and having poor role models and hangers on guiding him in the wrong direction. The lowest points of his life came in the mid 1990′s until just after the turn of the millennium as he was deeply involved in drugs, with him being arrested on several occasions for the possession of cocaine, heroin and marijuana. He was also arrested for possession of these drugs as well as speeding and having an unloaded gun on Sunset Boulevard in April 1996.
Time in and out of jail as well as drug rehabilitation centres followed for the actor, while many pieces of work, both on and off screen, were cancelled or saw him fired from until he finally realised that he had a problem in 2001. He got help and with the success of films like the Iron Man series and Tropic Thunder in recent years Hollywood has forgiven, if not forgotten with pay related behaviour clauses in his contracts, the earlier problems of Robert Downey Jr. as he has returned to the big time.

The Ferris Bueller’s Day Off actor has a dark blot on the history pages of his career having had a car accident that killed two people in Northern Ireland in 1987. The rental car he was driving veered into the wrong lane and killed a mother and daughter. He was charged with causing death by dangerous driving and faced up to five years in jail. However, in what the family of the deceased called a “travesty of justice” this charge was dropped and he was charged with dangerous driving that saw him fined just $175. As Broderick was featured in a multi-million Honda advert for the Superbowl in 2012 that highlighted safety it appears that he has been forgiven, and the incident forgotten about, by the Hollywood execs.

If people thought Robert Downey Jr. had gone over the top with his drug abuse then they would be amazed by the life story of Charlie Sheen, the son of Martin Sheen and half brother of Emilio Estevez. In May 1998 he was hospitalised due to a drug overdose that was caused by injecting cocaine and after already having been on probation for previous drug offenses the Platoon actor had an extra year added and was sent to a rehabilitation centre. He has also been arrested for assault and criminal damage, yet he was earning $1.8m per episode of the series Two and a Half Men. He was fired from the show due to more substance abuse and a breakdown followed, yet he still finds work with him fronting the show Anger Management and acting the move Machete Kills. Hollywood once again shows how willing they are to forgive their own for their misdemeanours.

In the grand scheme of things Ben Affleck’s recent problems are not big, and they are certainly not in comparison to the other’s listed here, so assuming that Superman vs. Batman is a hit then there is likely to be no repercussions for the movie star. However, will he slip away from the radar and need to take time away to allow time to pass should his movies start to flop?

Disclosure: We have received compensation for this sponsored guest post.

Anne Hathaway may have won herself an Oscar, but she is kind of a douche. Who knew?!?

We’ve always defended Anne after she was called a pretentious snob for her arrogance, but this story just takes the cake. According to reports, Anne was snapped by the paparazzi when she went to take her dog for a walk a few days ago.

She was said to have been so mad at the paparazzi that she put her dog’s crap on the windshield of the photographer. Gross, right?

In addition to all of that, Anne’s snobbery has gotten to an all new level. A source said, “Anne is making everyone on her staff call her Miss Hathaway now, even the ones who have been with her for years! It’s a new rule since her Oscar win, and when someone accidentally called her Anne, she reprimanded him big time. What’s next, she refers to herself in the third person? It’s ridiculous!”

The source added, “She has openly started comparing herself to Grace Kelly. No one laughs in her face about it but there are plenty of jokes behind her back, that’s for sure. People just can’t take her arrogance.”

Steve Harvey has been cleared of child abuse allegations after being accused of hitting his 11-year-old son. His ex-wife Mary and their son claimed that he brutally beat him over lying about school work. In addition, his body was said to be covered by cuts and bruises.

When the police were notified of the situation, they referred the case to the Texas Department of Family Services. That department did their investigation and found that the child was not at risk and the case against the comedian was closed.

Steve’s rep said, “Based on the information obtained, the child does not appear to be at risk. The case is closed without further investigation.”

Mary, however, has been sentenced to 30 days in jail for leaking sealed information to the media about the alleged incident. Interesting, no?

After her rep has just dismissed reports that Madonna was engaged to her young boytoy Brahim Zaibat, it appears that they have called it quits! Who knew that their relationship was even on the rocks?!??

According to the latest gossip, Madonna will be single for the holidays now that they have gone their separate ways. They have been together for three years, but work commitments have caused them to part ways.

Brahim is a dancer and apparently he had landed a stint on France’s version of Dancing With The Stars. So that is his parting gift? A reality TV dancing competition?!? Perhaps he should’ve tried dating George Clooney — at least the women he dates walk away with more extravagant gifts…HA!

Gambling should always most definitely be a great time for all involved – that’s why you should always use your GameSense. If you didn’t know, GameSense is a lot like common sense. You wouldn’t take the money to the casino that you were going to use to pay your rent or car payment — would you?

In every instance of gambling, you should always play for the thrill of the game. Never, under any circumstances play games in order to make money. Making money from gambling should always be a bonus, not a necessity. Gambling and gaming for cash could never take the place of having a full-time job, primarily because the risk for failure is too great.

You can’t tell your landlord that you’ll have better luck next time at the slots when the rent is due, just as you shouldn’t depend on any earnings to pay your electric bill.

Unlike the poor fella in the video, you should always accept your loss and not chase after them:

In any instance, if you feel that gambling has become too big of a part of your life, you can opt for self-exclusion from gambling sites and casinos. You should definitely take frequent breaks away from the gambling scene and have other interests.

There is no such thing as a “lucky charm” or a “hot” machine, so if you’ve fallen into those beliefs, check your GameSense at the door. Trust us, you will be glad that you did!

Former Disney teen queen Miley Cyrus insists she was happy to take it all off for her Wrecking Ball promo but hated shedding a tear on camera. If you’ve seen the video, then you already know what we’re talking about. It’s very personal, almost a love letter to her ex-fiance Liam Hemsworth.

The singer stripped to a pair of boots to swing on a wrecking ball for the music video, attracting a slew of negative remarks from critics accusing her of taking her sexy new image too far. The former Hannah Montana star is adamant she has no problem with nudity and was far more concerned with the segment of the video when she openly weeps on camera.

In a new interview, she tells VEVO, “For me, nudity has never been something that I’ve ever tripped about… I’d rather be naked in front of people than cry in front of people because I don’t like showing weakness and that shows a lot of, like, vulnerabilities. It was harder to be in that, like, emotional state in front of so many people on set rather than it just be about being naked.”

We don’t care if she’s clothed or not — just as long as she keeps her tongue in her mouth already. Ha!

The Jonas Brothers have confirmed they are splitting up after weeks of speculation about the future of the band. It was rumored that Joe Jonas was going through some troubles with drugs, but that has yet to be confirmed. It does seem suspect, however, that the brothers are going their own ways, professionally. What do you think?

Rumors the brothers were preparing to go their separate ways were sparked when they axed their tour earlier this month. That was a pretty sudden announcement, if we do say so.

The sibling band has now confirmed the split, with Kevin Jonas telling People magazine, “It’s over for now.”

According to her very own sister Karen Houghton, momager Kris Jenner is a complete “monster mom”. Are you shocked?!?

Aunt Karen is revealing the ugly truth about her sister in the “making of a monster mom”. That sounds sort of like an old black and white horror flick about a mother who attacks everything it sees with a vengeance, doesn’t it?

Karen reveals twisted childhood secrets that explain how Kris became the troubled woman she is today. The magazine reports that Kris has been chasing a 31-year-old hottie, has already picked out Khloe’s next husband and is dropping millions on surgery in order to stay younger looking.

Are her actions threatening the family’s fortune? You would have to pick up the latest issue of In Touch Weekly to know for sure!

On the latest cover of Life & Style magazine, reality star and mother of two Kourtney Kardashian has insulted her more famous sister Kim. The cover reveals that Kourt has told Kim to start acting like a mother already!

And who could really blame Kourtney for saying this? Not even two months after North West was born and Kim is already gallivanting in Paris with her baby’s father Kanye West. She needs to be staying home with that baby. Lord knows what could come of that if she left Nori with Kris Jenner all of the time. We don’t even want to fathom the possibilities!

Former Glee actor Cory Monteith died after a heroin and champagne-filled solo party in a Vancouver, Canada hotel suite, according to a coroner’s final report.

The actor was found dead on July 13th after failing to check out as a guest at the Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel. First responders found drug paraphernalia “including a spoon with drug residue and a used hypodermic needle” in the room, plus two empty bottles of champagne. Monteith returned to his suite just after 2am on July 13th. There was no evidence he was joined by anyone else during his final hours. Sad!

The final report, released on Wednesday, confirms that Monteith “had a history of illicit drug use with intermittent periods of rehabilitation and of abstinence from drugs.”

Experts fear his abstinence from drug use following a stint in rehab in April may have lessened his tolerance, leading to the overdose that cost Monteith his life. The actor will be remembered on a special episode of Glee, which will air next week.